LE MANS TRIP - SATURDAY and SUNDAY 18th
and 19th JUNE 2005
Anatomy of a great time – Le Mans 2005
Day 1 Monday 13th June
We had arranged to meet up with Gordon and Allison Moffett at our house and
place some essential items into what had traditionally became the club's support
vehicle to Le Mans, their Toyota Lucida which we instantly named 'Lucy'. We were
very lucky that Gordon's MK1 was off the road and he had to bring Lucy as it is
well known that Joanne doesn't travel lightly and there was no way I was going
to get all those shoes and makeup into the MK1s boot. Early morning and all
packed up for the big off we headed for Maidstone where we had arranged to meet
local members Peter Key and Liz. We arrived at the White Rabbit hotel around 5pm
to already find Peter and Liz all the way through their first bottle of plonk,
brilliant they had already grasped the true meaning of the Le Mans spirit...!
I received a phone call from South East Area co-organiser Alan Cayzer, who
knew we would be staying on his patch requesting that he, wife Linda and son
Mark would love to pay us a visit during the evening, it was really nice to see
you all again and thanks for making the effort to come down and see us.
We had a reasonably early night with not too much alcohol as we knew we would
have to be in fine fettle for the early ferry crossing and drive down through
France to the Chateau. Can I just ask Gordon and Allison was it really the
shower making that strange noise...?
Day 2 Tuesday 14th June
– It’s finally here after all the planning and waiting. After a light
breakfast we gathered our MK1s and headed the short 30 minute drive to Dover. Is
it just me or is Dover ferry port looking more and more like a go-kart track
each year. I've been there 5 years now and still get lost and can't find my way
to the SeaFrance kiosk. We eventually got there after some premature driving on
the wrong side of the road and joined the queue to board. At this point you get
your first taste of excitement, all the MK1s parked up in a line with the ferry
in the foreground, bow open ready to swallow the cars up.
We boarded on time and used the one hour crossing time to convince Peter not
to use his satellite navigation system and to stay firmly on my rear bumper for
the 300 mile trip down to the Chateau. This he did this and we guided everyone
around Paris without a hitch and made it to Le Mans in good time. When we
arrived at the chateau we were presented with a champagne reception by Frogge
and Celina, a very nice touch and a nice way to start the holiday, thanks for
that. As well as Frogge and Celina, North West members Jim and Mary Ledden and
Bill Hulme were already there and had established a good club pitch with plenty
of shade.
Tents up, territory claimed, we spent the rest of the evening shopping for
essentials, we must remember to get food as well next year as beer does make you
hungry..!
Frogge and Celina
Day 3 Wednesday 15th June
Can't wait any longer, lets get down to the track and see what It’s all
about. I normally lead the proceedings and I know my way around Lemans and
surrounding area quite well, so traditionally I become club guide for the week.
I parked at the top of the Mulsanne straight and explained to the people who
hadn't been before that they were standing on one of the most famous parts of
any race circuit in the world and when the race starts they will be travelling
at 250mph where we are now. The next stop was for refreshment, yes you have
guessed it, beer, again, at the famous bar and restaurant on the Mulsanne
straight. The restaurant is now Chinese and you see it featured on many Le Mans
paintings and photographs, it does have a lot of history about it. We enjoyed a
few drinks and decide to book the restaurant for 18 people for Saturday night as
it would be good to see the cars blasting past down the Mulsanne whilst having a
meal.
We arrived back to the chateau for dinner and decided to return back to the
circuit for the 1st round of practice and qualifying. The qualifying runs from
19.00 - 21.00 and then 22.00 - 00.00. We didn't stay right till the end but it
did give the new people an early glimpse of what to expect during the race. The
noise coming from the Ferraris as they past us on the start and finish line was
amazing, it rumbled right through your chest, it was also good to get our first
sighting of the Aston Martin cars, damn they looked mean.
We spent the rest of the evening socialising around a camp fire till the
early hours of the morning. Jim Ledden again stole the show with his uncanny wit
and humour, very funny Jim, keep up the good work.
Famous Restaurant on Mulsanne straight
Pit crews at work for the qualifying session
Day 4 Thursday 16th June
This is pretty much a chill out day before the rumble of Mad Friday and the
weekend’s race. I received a phone call from a member of the Danish MR2 Club
saying they were on route to Le Mans and heading for the chateau for a visit.
True to his word a few hours later we were presented with 2 lovely MK1s and a
nice MK2. The Danes certainly love their MR2s and it was nice to see them in
stunning condition with lots of interesting chrome engine bits added, I'm sure
it all did something.
Later in the afternoon club chairman Stuart Kynoch and daughter Liz arrived
along with the magazine editor Richard Morgan and wife Rachael. The camp was
starting to spread out now and there was a great feeling of fun, adventure,
excitement and anticipation. That night el vino did flow and we had a right
laugh again till the small hours.
Joanne Thom behind the wheel just about to turn into Arnage
Powering out of Arnage in the MK1
Members of the Danish MR2 Club drop in for a visit
Day 5 Friday 17th June
Mad Friday, why is called this? Well it happens to be on a Friday and
everybody goes completely nuts. If you are remotely interested in cars then this
is the place for you. There is no other place in the world than Le Mans on Mad
Friday that you will see so many wonderful sports, classic, vintage, modded,
kit, and supercars in all their glory, I'm talking Ferrari F40's, 360's, F355's,
Lambo Mercilargo's, not 1, lots in all colours, Aston's, Jag's, you name it they
were all there. Its great to see so many car clubs attend the day, Westfield,
Lotus Elise, Porsche, Corvette, TVR, MR2...! The day is all about letting your
hair down and having fun, its like a carnival, a festival of speed, beauty and
raw passion. It really is difficult to discribe in words what the atmosphere is
like on this day, you need to be there to experience it for yourself. A number
of people have mentioned that Mad Friday was the highlight of the trip, even
better than the glamour and excitement of the race itself. We got down to the
circuit nice and early and joined the procession of car at the top of Mulsanne,
there are so many cars that really its 2nd gear all the way but its good that
way as it gives you a chance to soak it all up. As usual the boys are out in
numbers at the famous Shanghi restaurant on the Mulsanne straight stopping cars
for pictures, firing water pistols and generally doing what boys do when thay
have had a few pints, all harmless fun I must add. It really is a great place to
park up for 20 minutes or so and just soak up the party spirit.
One of the many car clubs on the day, note our MK1s and Liz Tegg
in the background with a BIG smile on her face
Typical 'Mad Friday' fun - THE ideal time to bring along your
inflatable Dalek
From Mulsanne we continued around the circuit to a place where we stay for
the rest of the day, Arnage. Here its like a static car show, there are so many
cars parked up at the edge of the track and on the infield, its amazing to see.
We found a great place to park, right on the exit of Arnage between the
colourful blue and yellow apex and the track, I was really surprised just how
high the apex is considering how low the race cars actually are. We got the
deckchairs, waterpistols and sandwiches out, the main essentials for mad Friday
and spent the next 3 hours taking in the atmosphere, the cars going past were
just amazing. Jim Ledden couldn't resist a little blast around the track at high
speed, a little too quick at 1 point when he ended up in the kitty litter and
had to be pulled out, fantastic.
On the exit of Arnage
Ferrari F40 - Nothing more to say...!
Jimmy at high speed cornering Arnage, note the crash helmet
Richard Morgan and Club in background watching Jimmy
From Arnage we continued down the circuit and parked up in the Blue car park
in front of the pits. Mad Friday gives you a unique opportunity to visit the pit
lane and see the teams and cars up close and personal. Its a good idea to spend
a few hours wandering up and down the pit lane and see how technical and
complicated running a race team must be, if you are lucky you are able to get
the odd driver's autograph, its not unusual to bump into one of the drivers in
the paddock area behind the pits. In the car park we met up with members Michael
and Rachel Thorne who had just arrived at Le Mans and were very keen to get to
the pits.
Aston Martin - the sporting gentleman's carriage
After a warm and exciting day we all met up and headed back to the chateau
for a well earned cold beer and dip in the swimming pool. That night we all
prepared nice meals around the camp and chatted the night away. We all retreated
to our tents sensibly early and looked forward to race day itself.
Day 6 and 7 Saturday 18th June - Sunday 19th June
Race day had finally arrived. We awoke bright and early and headed to the
circuit and our traditional area of the track called Virage Porsche. Basically
its a very fast 150mph bend which gives you a great opportunity to see the cars
a high speed sticking to the track like glue. We had planned to set up camp here
for the gruelleing 33 hours ahead, unfortunately when we arrived at the entrance
we were swiftly told 'no parking' and to park further down the road in one of
the campsites - and pay again for the privilege. This presented one or 2
problems for us as we had brought a lot of gear and it would have meant quite a
few trips back and forth to the cars. Basically the area we had previously
parked in had now been taken over by the Porsche Club of Great Britain who had
arranged to buy a large plot, in fact half of the normal parking area. The other
half had to been taken over by a corporate hospitality company and 250 small
tents, this was clearly an unfortunate result of the corporate world we are now
living in. To cut a long story short Rachel Thorne came to the rescue and found
a small grassed area next to an allotment and much closer to Virage, we
negotiated a bottle of fine Whisky with the owner and swiftly began to move the
troops in, you could just about fit 8 MK1s closely together, great, what we
hadn't predicted was the huge supply of lettuces, fresh from the ground the
owner of the allotment kept picking for us, to this day I don't know why, maybe
she was trying to trade them in for more whisky..?
We eventually got ourselves established on the top of the bank at Virage and
waited, and waited for the start of the race which was 4pm. Temperatures were
well above 38 degrees which was good as it give us an even better excuse to
drink and keep fluid levels high.
We had promised ourselves for this year we would walk to the start and finish
line and watch the start of the race from there, its a rolling start so seeing
35 throbbing 500bhp sports cars thundering their way past you should be
welcoming to the eye, and it was. Its well worth the wait and I must recommend
this for 2006.
So 4pm finally came and went and the 24 hours of high adrenalin racing had
begun. We stayed around the pit area for a few hours and watched the race on the
giant screens they have placed around the circuit, I love watching them come
into the pits and see the teams and mechanics come to life. From there we headed
back to Virage and joined the rest of the group. We had a table booked at the
Shanghai restaurant on the Mulsanne straight for 8pm so we headed down the small
twisty back roads and eventually found our way into the grassed car park.
Unfortunately most of the viewing area is blocked off here so all you have is
the sound as they blast by at 250mph. We had an excellent 2 course Chinese meal
with COLD beer...! As we were just finishing off a number of TVRs, Aston
Martins, Porsches and other sports cars arrived in the car park, we couldn't
resist and went and had a look. After looking over the cars I noticed a small
group of people had broke through the barrier and were standing high up on a
wooden fence watching the race, here we go, at last my dream of seeing the cars
whizz by on the Mulsanne was finally going to come true. Within seconds I too
found myself balancing at a rather dodgy angle around 8ft above the ground, I
spent an amazing 5 minutes watching the race from here before a security man
swiftly threatened to arrest us if we didn't move immediately, I felt a little
criminal but it was well worth it and a memory that will stay with me forever.
Joanne Thom with Gordon and Allison at the start of the 24
Heures Du Mans
No Go area on the Mulsanne where I managed to get a sneaky
peek..!
Virage Porsche, also known as Porsche Curve - 150mph
After dinner we all decided to go back to the campsite for a refreshing
shower and cool down, the day had after all been well over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. We did this and returned to the circuit around 11pm and headed to
Arnage, my favourite place at night to watch the race. Arnage is basically a
series of fast sweeping curves followed by a sharp 90 degree right hander. You
get really close to the cars here and its amazing to see just how much power the
cars have as they blast away from Arnage full throttle. We stayed here for a few
hours and really did soak up the atmosphere, quite a few people retire back to
tents and cars for a few zzzz's but its the one night of the year that I'm
determined to stay with the programme and see it through, call me mad.
We made it through the long night and headed back to Virage to meet up with
the rest of the members, most had returned to the Chateau for the night and came
back to the circuit early to continue watching the race unfold.
We stayed at the track till around 2pm and decided head back to the Chateau
to avoid the queues heading away from Le Mans. It had been another stinking hot
day so the thought of a cool shower followed by a cool beer to watch the end of
the race on the big TV at the Chateau was more than welcoming. Once we had been
cleaned up and refreshed we all gathered around the TV and watched the rest of
the exciting day. The race itself was thrilling, right till the end, if you like
motorsport then you must come next year and experience it for yourself. This
year saw record crowds with around 350,000 people attending from all over the
world. The weekend had been thrilling and exciting and I'll savour those
memories for years to come, well until next year of course when I'll have new
ones.
We spent the rest of the evening chilling out, swimming in the pool, drinking
and eating and generally having a right laugh. I had planned for an early night
but that went out the window when I retired to my tent at 2am on Monday morning.
Watching the end of the BIG race back at the Chateau, in the
cool..!
Relaxing back at the chateau after the race, Frogge and Graham
Jim Ledden sorting out the scran
Bill Hulme relaxing at camp
Casualty of Arnage by night..!
Day 8 Monday 20th June
After the thrills and excitement of the past 48 hours this really is a chill
out day and a good day to recharge those tired batteries. Traditionally this day
is one where quite a few people leave and head back to the UK. Its not uncommon
for many people visiting Le Mans to arrive on the Friday and go on the Monday,
we actually did this the 1st year but found it just too demanding and tiring.
Its worth hanging around the chateau for at least the morning to help people
pack up and give that all important good bye wave and toot of the horn. We did
however get the all important group pictures.
Once most of the Monday leavers have departed its back to the relaxing
ambience and quite mood of the chateau, a complete contrast to the previous 3
days of laughter, singing and engine's roaring.
Day 9 and 10 Tuesday 21st June - Wednesday 22nd June
By now most people have left the chateau and are enjoying the comforts of
normal living. This year saw more Club members tagging along for a few extra
days to relax and enjoy the beautiful Loire Valley and all the surrounding
delights. Myself and Joanne spent most of the following 2 days exploring the
local attractions including a visit to the Motor Museum La Sarthe which is
situated inside the circuit and houses a vast display of French motor history
including the very 1st car to win the Lemans 24 hour way back in 1923.
After the museum visit we decided to do a few laps of the circuit as it was
so quiet by now on the roads. I then decided to do a small photo shoot, here are
a few snaps of that.
Joanne wondering why the MK1 never had A/C
Following the photo shoot we headed towards some of the spectacular Chateaux
and beautiful small picturesque towns, the roads around these parts are fast and
smooth and fantastic to drive. We then ended the day with a visit to the Le
Mans zoo and a welcoming dip in the chateau's cool pool.
Day 11 Thursday 23rd June 2005
This was to be our last full day in France before our long drive back home,
therefore we decided to do nothing all day except sunbathe and play in the pool.
It wasn't long before I got bored and decided to do another photo shoot around
the grounds of the chateau, here's a few snaps
Day 12 - Day 13 Friday 24th June - Saturday 25th June 2005
Well the time had come to pack everything back up and squeeze all our
belongings in the small confines of our tiny MR2 and head back to the UK. For us
the holidays wasn't quite over as we had arranged to spend a few days in London
on the way back, and as promised attend the Bromley Motoring Pageant organised
by the South East boys on the Sunday.
We set off nice and early and made good time up and through Paris looking
good to catch an earlier than booked ferry when disaster struck. Picture the
scene 110mph on the A1 French motorway then bang, your alternator adjusting bolt
snaps...! The alternator dropped and instantly I had no drive to the water pump,
within seconds the temperature guage was in the red. As quickly as I could I
steered across 3 busy lanes and onto the hard shoulder switching the engine off
at the same time leaving just the fans to cool. I managed to coast about a
quarter of a mile before realising something major had happened. Luckily we were
only 2000 meters from a service station and I managed to get the car there
somehow, very frightening trying to cross major exits on the hard shoulder at
10mph. Well we eventually made it and began to access the damage. A quick call
to Paul Woods and we decided to use one of the bolts from the drivers door hinge
to replace the broken one on the alternator but disaster number 2, the old bolt
that had snapped was still inside the thread on the adjuster, I was not going to
be able to fix it myself. We eventually managed to get through to the RAC who
told us we needed to ring the local plod who have to attend any breakdowns on
French motorways..? Anyway after ignoring that request as we were in the
services car park 10 minutes later a low loader arrived and I began to explain
in my best French/Geordie what the problem was. 2 hours later and we were back
on the road following a trip to the local machine shop where they re-tapped the
bolt.
We eventually made it to Calais and had a smooth crossing. Back in the UK we
headed for Redhill in Surrey where we had booked 3 night in a hotel. The
following day we realised we were not far from Brooklands motor museum so we
decided to visit as this really was the birthplace of oval style motor racing.
An excellent place to visit with lots of history, we spent almost the full day
here.
The famous 'Members Bridge'
Look what Jo has spotted..!
Famous hill climb
Banked oval, very steep
Day 14 Sunday 26th June 2005
At the Christmas party 2004 in Loughborough I had promised Alan, Pete and
Steve that I would attend one of the South East's meetings. The Bromley Motoring
Pageant fell perfect within our Le Mans plans and we decided to attend this huge
motoring event. We all met nice and early and headed for the showground, for
some reason it took nearly 2 hours to get into the park, not really sure why.
Alan Cayzer had done a great job organising the day for us and on reflection had
achieved the South East's biggest static gathering to date, well done Alan and
team.
After a long and hot day we headed back to the hotel. The following day we
once again packed up and headed the 285 miles back to Durham.
Celebrating 10 years of the Club
Local lad 'Jinxy'
Pete and Kell
Not looking bad after its Le Mans 2000 mile round trip
The South East are an active bunch
Pete Kytes fabulous showcar
Once home I started reflecting on the past 2 weeks, boy what a time we had
had, we had done so much in that time, had so many laughs, met so many great
people, witnessed some fantastic motorsports, drank some fantastic beer and
wine, saw some amazing road cars, swam, sunbathed, walked, ate ( non-stop ) a
magical time...!
This event really does sum up what this club is all about, good times and boy
did we have a good time. If this has whet your appetite then the good news is
that we get to do it all again next year. Booking for 2006 are already being
taking. Please contact me if you would like any information on Le Mans 2006, go
on write your own story...!
As I write this 6 people have already booked with me for next years trip -
the sixth - so come and join us!
MIKE SHEAVILLS
Le Mans 2005
